Sgt. Jeffery Matthews awarded Durham Public Schools' Teacher of the Year

Durham Public Schools has announced its Teacher of the Year, 1st Sgt. Jeffery Matthews.

Matthews is the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) instructor at the historic Hillside High School after serving in the United States Army for 29 years. The retired non-commissioned officer said he needs to see his freshmen graduate.

A native of Louisiana, Matthews said he loves learning, citing history as his favorite subject because he loves dates and timelines. He's currently working on his Masters degree in business administration.

Matthews said the skills he learned as an Army instructor helped him transition into his current role as a JROTC instructor.

Matthews said as a teenager he didn’t always demonstrate his capacity. Now, he said his goal is to model the philosophy that one must overcome their shortcomings and achieve – despite those who don’t see your potential, including yourself.

Matthews hopes to be the advocate he never had in school.

"My counselors were not there for me," he said. "They kind of left me to the side. So I never had an advocate in school. I wasn't a bad student, but I wasn’t a great student. But what about the kids in the middle? We kind of always forget about the kids in the middle."

Matthews said seeing his kids succeed is what motivates him.

“It’s the kids who keep me here," he said. "I can see the transformation. We can be that connection for that child. If you can affect one you can affect many."

However, he admitted that there are many challenges in the profession.

"The landscape is changing, so how do we engage and make everyone feel good enough to know they have potential? You have to know the kids in some aspect. That’s what builds classroom culture."

Matthews said he couldn’t experience the success that he has as a teacher without the support of his wife and family and his faith in God.

"It’s a passion," he said. "You've got to have a passion for it. Ninety-nine percent of the teachers have a passion for this work. We are counselors, mentors, coaches, guiding lights."